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This topic contains 2 replies, has 2 voices, and was last updated by Avatar of Rachel Neilson Rachel Neilson 9 years, 9 months ago.

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  • #3322
    Avatar of Rachel Neilson
    Rachel Neilson
    Participant

    Can lack of sleep or sleep insomnia increase the risk of Diabetes?

    #3503
    Avatar of Heidi
    Heidi
    Participant

    There is definitely a good amount of research concerning this subject. Sleep has five stages. During the deeper stages (also called slow-wave sleep) of sleep, the body restores itself and the brain uses less glucose and thus glucose metabolism is slower. The body then speeds up metabolism during the second part of the night. This being said, any shortening or alterations in sleep could plausibly have an effect on insulin resistance (1). For example, sleep fragmentation, such as that experienced in obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) can ultimately put the body in an inflammatory state. Inflammation is correlated with diabetes. In short, OSA increases sympathetic activity which increases gluconeogenesis and the breakdown of glycogen (2). Multiple studies have also shown an increase in diabetic incidence with either short or prolonged amounts of sleep (3,4). Thus too much or too little sleep can prove to be a risk factor. These correlations were seen even after controlling for hypertension, smoking, and waist circumference.

    1. Touma C, Pannain S. Does lack of sleep cause diabetes? Clev Clinic Journ of Med. 2011. 78(8):549-558.
    2. Zizi F, Jean-Louis G, Brown C, et al. Sleep duration and the risk of diabetes mellitus: epidemiologic evidence and pathophysiologic insights. Current Diabetes Report. 2010. 10(1): 43-47.
    3. Yaggi HK, Araujo AB, McKinlay JB. Sleep duration as a risk factor for the development of type 2 diabetes.Diabetes Care. 2006. 29(3): 657-661.
    4. Quan SF, Howard BV, Iber C, et al. The sleep heart health study: design, rationale, and methods. Sleep. 1997. 20(12):1077-85.

    #3567
    Avatar of Rachel Neilson
    Rachel Neilson
    Participant

    My curiosity stemmed from an article that was published in February of this year. Researchers found that through different types of therapy in those with insomnia, risk biomarkers for diabetes can be decreased (1). I didn’t understand how insomnia could even contribute to diabetes and the risk factors. Gluconeogenesis and sleep apnea are interesting topics involved in insomnia which are interesting parts of the puzzle that I will have to look into. Thanks for the answer.

    1. Carroll JE1, Seeman TE2, Olmstead R3, Melendez G3, Sadakane R3, Bootzin R4, Nicassio P5, Irwin MR6. Improved sleep quality in older adults with insomnia reduces biomarkers of disease risk: Pilot results from a randomized controlled comparative efficacy trial. Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2015 Feb 25;55:184-192

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